Hungary's New Friends
by WebRooster
Summary: Hungary is starting fresh at a new school. The first thing she wants to do is make some friends. How will she do it?


"Listen up class!" Mr. Jones yelled, trying to get the attention of his fourth grade class, "We have a new student. Her name is Elizaveta. Don't be giving her trouble, alright?" A girl with long brown hair and green eyes, as well as an orange flower in her hair was standing at the front of the room, looking around at her new classmates.

Most of the class looked at the new girl curiously, with the exception of one boy with brown hair and olive skin, who was sleeping peacefully on his desk. There was one empty desk right beside him.

"Heracles, wake up. You're getting a partner" Mr. Jones told him. Elizaveta sat down beside him and gave him a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Liza." she said.

"I'm Heracles."

"Can I call you Hera?" she asked, not knowing it was a girls name.

"Hmm, call me Zeus instead. Do you like cats?"

The two talked about arbitrary topics until recess came, instead of doing the math work assigned to them. Elizaveta felt happy to make a new friend. She and Heracles went outside and sat on the grass, talking more about random things, until she saw a rope on the ground near the wall of the school.

"Do you know how to jump rope?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. One of my cats brought me a skipping rope from the neighbours yard while I was sleeping on my hammock. Then he woke me up and taught me how to use it," he told her, chuckling a bit,"I'm kidding about the last part. My cat didn't wake me up." Elizaveta giggled at his joke and ran over to get the rope. On closer inspection, she noticed it was to big for one person to use.

"We're going to need another person to play with this thing." She looked around and noticed a boy playing with a stuffed polar bear. He had blond hair, with a big curly strand sticking out, and was wearing glasses.

"Hey you! Do you wanna play with me and Zeus?" she asked, assuming everyone called Heracles by that name. The boy looked around, trying to find who she was talking to. When he realized she was talking to him, his eyes widened in surprise. Nobody ever noticed him. He smiled and gave a tiny nod. They both walked back to where Heracles was already drifting off. After shaking him awake, the started to take turns jumping in the middle, singing little rhymes that went along with the rhythm of the rope. They played until the bell that signaled the end of recess rung. Elizaveta remembered that she did not even know the name of her new friend.

"I'm Liza, by the way."

"My name is Matthew."

"Can I call you Mattie?" she asked him. She liked giving her friends nicknames, and she could tell by his smiling face that he liked being her friend.

"Okay, you can call me that. I don't mind."

The next period was art. Mr. Jones told them to get into groups of four and brainstorm something to draw for a poster project for any good cause. The class moved around, each child finding their friends to group with. Matthew hesitantly walked over to Heracles and Elizaveta, not knowing if he could be with them, but was reassured when Elizaveta told him to "hurry up and sit with us". There was still one seat to be filled. Matthew didn't have any friends that he could ask to join them due to his shyness, and Heracles was always too busy sleeping to make more than a few acquaintances, so he could not get anyone either. It was up to Elizaveta to find someone. She quickly scanned the room, and spotted a girl by herself reading a book about Russian history, clearly not interested in whatever the class was doing.

She had long, light blonde hair, way lighter than Mathews, which looked more orange in comparison, and a white bow in it. She looked like she needed a group. Elizaveta walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around there was a scowl on her face.

"What do you want?" the girl asked harshly.

"I'm Liza, what's your name?"

"Natalya." She turned back around, intending to get back to her book.

"Wait, I'm not done! Do you want to be in my group for the project? It's me, Mattie and Zeus, and we need another person."

"No."

"Are you already in another group?"

"... No." Elizaveta smiled and grabbed her arm, pulling the girl to her friends. They both looked at the two girls and were trying to hold back laughter. Elizaveta was leading Natalya with a triumphant smirk, while Natalya was glaring at her and trying to break free of the hand holding her. If looks could kill, Elizaveta would be dead by now. Elizaveta motioned for Natalya to sit, which she did, and sat down beside her to make sure she wouldn't run away.

"Can I call you Nat?"

"No."

Ignoring the two girls, Heracles started to give some ideas for the project.

"Let's draw cats." he said drowsily.

"We could draw four cats, one for each of us," Matthew added, " and it could be for an animal shelter."

"That's a really good idea guys! Right Nat?" Elizaveta said, adding in the last part in an attempt to make Natalya feel like she was part of the group that she was forced in.

"Don't call me Nat!" she yelled angrily.

"Are you okay with that idea Nat?" Heracles asked with a cheeky smile.

"Do whatever you want with the project. And don't call me Nat."

The four of them started on rough sketches of the cats that represented themselves. Before they knew it, the lunch bell rang. Natalya stood up to leave, but was interrupted before she could go.

"Do you want to eat lunch with us?" Matthew asked softly. He knew the feeling of being alone everyday, and he didn't want his new friend to be lonely when she didn't need to be.

Meanwhile, Natalya was surprised that they still wanted to hang out even though art class was over. People were usually put off by her cold demeanor. She felt her insides get fuzzy and couldn't hold back the smile that broke through her poker face. She sat back down and pulled out her lunch without saying a word.

They all noticed the smile that formed on her face. They all wanted to comment on how much prettier she looked when she was happy, Elizaveta especially, but they knew if they made a big deal out of it she would probably never show it again out of embarrassment, so they pretended not to notice. Which was hard since Elizaveta kept sneaking glances at her. They talked until the next recess, and they played tag during their time outdoors while Heracles rested on the grass.

Time flew by quickly and it was already the end of the day. The four of them said their goodbyes, and went on their ways. Matthew and Heracles found out that they took the same school bus home, and sat together. Natalya and Elizaveta ended up living close to each other, and they walked home together in a comfortable silence. Elizaveta broke it when Natalya was about to turn onto a different street.

"Wait, Natalya, before you go, I have to ask you something." Natalya turned to face her new friend.

"What is it?"

"Can I call you Nat?"

"...Sure, whatever." Natalya turned and left before her smile started showing again. Elizaveta knew what she was doing, though. She knew that her stoicism was just a facade. Natalya was a tough nut to crack, but those kinds of people were worth it once you broke through the shell.

Elizaveta walked home, lost in thought and reflecting back on her first day in her new school. She was proud to have made three new friends, but she was more proud of the fact that she got three friendless people together. She wasn't sure what her future would be like with these three in her life, but one thing she was sure of was that she couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.


End file.
